What would you define as your blog’s greatest asset? Would it be the number of readers your blog attracts? The number of RSS or E-Mail subscribers you have? The ad revenue your blog generates or even the number of followers you have on Twitter? The correct answer to this question is none of the above. It is more basic, more fundamental, and the key to all the metrics one measure’s to determine the size and reach of their blog.
The greatest asset you have as a blogger is your authority and your credibility. According to Technorati, there are well over 100 million blogs out there. So with so much competition, what makes your blog stand out from the pack? Why should readers choose to spend their time on your blog over your competitors? This is a question that every blogger needs to ask themselves.
It is a blogger’s credibility which will attract readers. No one wants to simply read content from a no-name blogger with no substantial expertise. In order to succeed in the blogosphere you must build credibility, both for yourself as a blogger and for your blog itself. Take a look at the successful blogs in this niche, JohnChow, ProBlogger, Shoemoney, Daily Blog Tips, etc. The one commonality in all these blogs is that they are brands which readers trust as experts in the niche.
Many bloggers feel that pure traffic numbers are the key to the success of a blog and will go to any length to get as many page views as possible. Yet, from personal experience this is the wrong approach. Sure it is possible to drive tens of thousands of social media visitors from a popular story on Digg, but what is the point of this traffic if they never return?
Instead, I recommend that you direct more of your marketing resources to building your credibility and getting yourself known in the industry. This can be done through attending industry events, guest posting, and interviewing authoritative figures in your niche. Establishing yourself as an authority in the niche will take more time and probably result in less overall traffic than social media or other marketing campaigns, but this traffic will be targeted and will open up more relevant opportunities for you personally. It will allow you to actually build a blog community, instead of being a blog where new visitors come and go daily.
This post was written by Aditya Mahesh, founder of AMBeat.com, a complete resource for entrepreneurs complete with advice articles, start-up profiles, interviews, news analysis, and more.
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